The Morning Office on Sunday shall begin with Psalm 66 recited straight through without an antiphon. After that let Psalm 50 be said with "Alleluia," then Psalms 117 and 62, the Canticle of Blessing (Benedicite) and the Psalms of praise (Ps. 148-150); then a lesson from the Apocalypse to be recited by heart, the responsory, the Ambrosian hymn, the verse, the canticle from the Gospel book, the litany and so the end.

I wonder about what Benedict intended with the scripture he specifies. Some seem, appropriately enough, chosen to accompany the sun's rising:

"Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!" (Psalm 66: 1-2)

"The Mighty One, God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets." (Psalm 50: 1)

Benedict includes the shortest of the psalms, "Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord." (Psalm 117)

Psalm 62 reminds us of how God is a source of assurance, "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

But just in case all this praising might encourage one's heart to fly too high, Benedict also requires that a passage of the Apocalypse be recited from memory. Glorious praise, loving assurance, and warning of judgment harmonized to begin the day.